Better Than Before
by colorfulquirkcutieanimefan
Summary: The homunculi kidnap Ed and Al and use them to create the Philosopher's Stone, like they did in Lab. 5, only this time they planned it out better. Will they get the brothers to do what they want? Or is it just another useless attempt to become human?
1. Chapter 1

This is my first story, so I don't know if it's any good. Please review and tell me how I can improve. Thanks a lot!

* * *

Lust walked slowly through the busted door into the abandoned warehouse. She had told Wrath, Envy, Gluttony and Sloth to meet her here, and as her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she saw that they were already waiting for her.

Wrath jumped off the crate that he was perching on, and asked Lust, "Why'd you call us here?"

"Yes", Envy joined in, "Do tell."

"Well..."Lust began. "I don't know about any of you, but I'm beginning to doubt Dante. Sure, she made it clear that it was our little mission to get the Philosopher's Stone created, and then safely deliver it to her, and in return, she would transform us all into humans. But I am beginning to believe that once she has the stone, she will only use it to help herself. I don't think that she actually intends to turn us into humans. That's just her way of manipulating us."

"So then, what are you planning to do?" Sloth asked, curiously.

"I have a plan that will enable us to get the Philosopher's Stone and use it on ourselves, without Dante finding out", Lust explained.

"What happens if she does find out?" asked Wrath, wide eyed.

"I've got it planned out so she doesn't."

"And, how on earth are you going to create the Philosopher's Stone?" Sloth questioned Lust. "We can't do alchemy, minus Wrath who barely knows the basics."

"We use an alchemist of course. The Full Metal Alchemist would be easiest to manipulate. He's already looking to create the stone, and also, I've planned out what to do if he doesn't cooperate."

"Beat him to death, right?" asked Envy, grinning evilly.

"No, of course not you idiot. If he died, then who would perform the alchemy to create the stone? We'll have his younger brother hostage, and if he tries anything, we'll kill his brother."

Envy sighed, "Didn't we already try this in Laboratory 5?"

"Yes, but it'll be more planned out this time. We'll make sure this time is better than before. We'll make sure we're well hidden, so that no one will find us and stop us, like Scar did last time", Lust said. The other homunculi nodded, and agreed to the plan.

"Finally, our chance to become human!" Lust exclaimed.

"Human! Human!" chanted Gluttony.

"Let's put this plan into action", Envy said.

* * *

"Are you sure this is a shortcut?" Al asked Ed as they began to walk down the dark alley.

"Yeah, sure it is", Ed replied. They were already 2 days late reporting back to Mustang about their latest mission.

It turned out that the alley led them right to Central HQ, and Ed quickly ran in and gave Mustang his full report, (sorry that there isn't a conversation with Mustang, I wanted to get right to the point) then rushed back out, and complained to Al that he was hungry.

"OK, we'll stop at the nearest restaurant", Al said, and they started back through the alley.

Suddenly, a familiar face jumped down from the rooftop and landed in front of the two brothers.

"Envy", Ed sneered. "What a surprise."

Then they heard someone jump down from behind them, also, and they both flipped around to see their mother's face smiling back at them.

"Sloth", Al hissed, as she extended out her arm as water straight into Al's armoured body, and fit herself inside of him. That's when she began controlling him from the inside.

"Brother!" Al screamed, as Ed dodged all the attacks that Sloth forced Al to do. But Envy attacked Ed from behind, kicking him in the back, and knocking him to the ground.

Ed got right back up again, and dodged both Sloth's and Envy's attacks, while also trying to inflict some damage on Envy.

Then a third attacker jumped down from above, and landed on Ed's shoulders, forcing him to the ground. It was Wrath, and Ed recognized him right away.

"Damn it", Ed swore, as Envy kicked him in the stomach. The loud cracking noise confirmed that Envy had broken one of Ed's ribs. Then Wrath punched Ed in the back of the head, while he was still on his shoulders. Ed grabbed Wrath's ankles, and threw him into the wall.

Suddenly, Ed felt something pierce his left shoulder. He turned around to find that Lust and Gluttony had joined the group of attackers, and Lust's extended nail had gone straight through his shoulder. Before he fell into unconsciousness, because of a blow to the back of his head thanks to Envy, he seen that the homunculus had Al tied up, and were loading him into a vehicle. It suddenly occurred to him that they were being kidnapped......


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I don't own FMA.

I was so proud of myself that I got the seond chapter out so quickly! That's cause it was mostly written already, so I can't guarantee the next chapter will be out that soon, but it won't take more than a week to write it, so expect it out soon. Thanks for reading and please review!

* * *

When Ed came to, he saw that he was in a dark, windowless room. His left arm was chained to the wall, and the shoulder was bloody and hurt. His right arm was nowhere to be seen. Neither was Alphonse. He felt tired, and very weak.

Suddenly, Envy walked into the room, with a grin on his face. "Hey, pipsqueak! I see you're awake!"

Ed tried to move his legs to kick Envy, but they felt so heavy and he couldn't move them.

"Don't even try to move. We drugged you, and frankly, you shouldn't even be awake right now, but seeing as you are, we might as well explain some stuff to you", Envy exclaimed.

Ed shook his head, trying to clear his mind. Where the hell was he? Where was his arm? Where was Al? What did Envy want with him? Suddenly, Lust also entered the room.

"Oh, so he is awake!" Lust said. She seemed pleased. "Edward, can you hear me properly?"

Edward glared at her, and attempted once more to move his legs. Envy kicked his right leg, hard, making Ed wince in pain, and then Envy slapped him across the face.

"Hey, Fullmetal pipsqueak-she was talking to you, now answer her!" Envy yelled.

"Yes..." Ed managed to say, through all the drugs they had used to make him weak and tired. "I can hear you."

"Excellent!" Lust exclaimed. "The plan is working perfectly, as it should. Now you're probably wondering where that brother of yours is."

"You better not have hurt him, damn it, or I'll..."

"Shush", Lust interrupted, putting a finger over Ed's mouth, but that's when Ed found the strength to kick her shin, and hard.

Lust gasped, in shock that Ed could have gained that much energy already. Envy punched Ed in the stomach, knocking the air out of him and hissed, "We haven't hurt your brother yet, but if you pull a stunt like that again, we will." Ed's reply was to give Envy a nasty glare; he was still too weak to talk too much.

"Now, you might be wondering why we've captured you", Lust began. "Well, it's nothing personal. It's just part of a bigger plan. We have your brother hostage, so if you fail to cooperate, we won't hesitate to kill him."

"Don't touch him!" Ed shouted.

"We just told you we won't if you cooperate properly", Envy replied, sounding annoyed. "Now shut up and listen to Lust."

"We need to create the Philosopher's Stone. We just need you to do the alchemy for us. We have all the human sacrifices", Lust explained.

Ed rolled his eyes, "We already went through something like this in Laboratory 5."

Lust said, "Yes, but, as you can see, this time is more planned out. It'll be better than before, and it'll work. We'll finally become human."

"What does Dante have to say about your little plan to become human? Are you planning to give the stone to her when you're through with it?" asked Ed, with a smirk. Envy stamped his foot down on Ed's ankle, and Ed yelped as his ankle broke.

"No smart remarks!" ordered Envy. "Your practically asking for us to hurt your brother, pipsqueak."

"Dante doesn't know, and she won't find out anytime soon, nor will anyone else. This plan is top secret, so this time, no one will come to your rescue", Lust exclaimed.

"Can I just ask a question?" said Ed through his gritted teeth from the pain in his ankle. Lust nodded. "Won't people notice we're gone and come looking for us? Like the military for example."

"We've got it figured out already", said Envy as he transformed himself into a replica of Ed. "And as for your brother..." Envy gestured towards the door.

Sloth walked into the room, followed by Wrath, who was dragging a suit of armor behind him.

"Al!" Ed yelled.

Envy burst into laughter. "We even tricked the little pipsqueak over here."

Ed pouted after being called little, but he couldn't pull anything, or they'd hurt Al, who apparently was not the armor that was in the room at that moment.

"This suit of armor is identical to what your brother looks like, and Sloth can easily control it, and make it look alive. The only flaw is that he won't be doing much talking", Lust explained, looking proud.

_Maybe, _Ed thought, _Al is being kept somewhere that's easy to escape from. If he can escape, I won't have to worry about following they're orders. It might be our only hope. I'll have to see where he is. _"Lust, I was wondering if I can see my brother before we start", Ed said.

"Certainly, I'll take you right away. It'd be torture to keep you two apart", Lust smiled. "Envy, Sloth and Wrath, move out and make sure no one gets into this building. The plan will commence in a few hours." They left, without a word.

Lust unlocked the chain that held him to the wall, and hauled Ed to his feet. As soon as Ed put pressure on his broken ankle, he fell to the ground again. Lust supported him on that side, and led him out of the room to his brother's.

On the way there, Ed asked, "Who are you damn homunculi using for human sacrifices?"

"The people who live in a small village not far from here. It's hidden well enough that no one will find us, or hear the alchemic array be activated."

"No way am I using innocent villagers as sacrifices!" Ed shouted.

"I already told you, countless times, if you do not cooperate, your brother will be killed. I'm sure you don't want that to happen."

Ed sighed, feeling miserable, but soon enough they arrived at a small door. Lust opened it, and Ed peered inside.

It was a small, windowless room, not unlike his own. Al was on the floor, all his limbs snapped off of him and scattered around him. Gluttony sat in a chair beside him, keeping guard.

"Brother!" Al exclaimed. "You're hurt!"

"Don't worry about me Al. You're the one who's all ripped apart and scattered" Ed said, trying to sound cheerful.

"Lust, I'm hungry", complained Gluttony.

"I'll get you some food later", Lust said.

Ed studied the room. There was no way that anyone could escape from here. And in Al's condition, there wasn't a chance. They were screwed.....


	3. Chapter 3

Once Lust had chained Ed to the wall again, she said, "We need you to be in the right condition to do alchemy, and since we need your arm detached from you while you reside here, we'll have to get your automail mechanic to reattach your arm when we're ready to start."

"Don't drag Winry into this!" Ed spat. His ankle still hurt like hell, and his shoulder was still bleeding, lightly. Lust grabbed his chin sharply, and pulled his head up so that he was looking her in the eyes. She dug into his skin with her sharp nails, and drew blood.

"Edward, it's all part of the plan. Don't you think that we'd have more control over you if we had two hostages? You are very easy to manipulate, you know. All we need is to take people who are close to you hostage. It's simple, really. Oh, and may I remind you that if you put up any kind of fight or resistance at any time from now until we have the stone in our hands, we will, in fact, kill your brother. Envy is off right now getting your mechanic, disguised as you." She released his chin, and shot her nail out, piercing Ed's left shoulder, once again. She had created a new puncture, which bled even more than the other one. Ed sucked in his breath, and glared.

"You may want to know that we'll be leaving this dump as soon as your mechanic is delivered here. We'll be headed off to that village, and it will be there that you're mechanic will fix you, and you will then do the alchemy. Understood?" Lust asked.

Edward turned pale and stared at the ground, as Lust left. He couldn't just take the lives of innocent people to help the homunculus. But he had to cooperate with them or his brother and Winry would pay the price. _Are we really trapped this time? _he thought, _Will we really have to do what they want? Is there any way out of this?_

* * *

The phone rang and Winry answered it, "Rockbell automail, how may we help you?"

"Winry? Is that you? This is Ed", the voice at the other end of the line said.

"Duh it's me Ed. Who did you think it was? Now, what do you need?"

"Sorry, I was just making sure that it was you. Well, if it's not too much trouble, I kinda need you to come out to Central, to fix up my automail. I got into a fight, and it got smashed up and taken off. You'll need to reattach it."

"WHAT? YOU BROKE IT AGAIN?!?!! I NEED TO REATTACH IT?? AND YOU NEED ME TO MAKE _ANOTHER_ MAINTENANCE TRIP????"

"Jeez, Winry. I'm sorry. If it's too much trouble then..."

"No, no. I'll be there as soon as I can. But you'd better not tell me you're in the hospital again! And you'd better be paying lots, cause trips like these are expensive."

"So... you're not mad anymore?"

"OF COURSE I'M STILL MAD! But, it can't be helped. And you could always make it up to me by taking me on a shopping spree, afterwards!"

"Sure... see you soon then?"

"Yes. Goodbye."

Envy hung up the phone. _What an awkward conversation, _he thought. At least everything was going as planned. Two hostages! That way, Ed will do what they want him to for sure.

* * *

Sometime later, Envy, disguised as Ed, and Sloth, disguised as Al, met Winry at the train station. She ran up to him, glaring at him and pouting.

"Where's your arm? Don't tell me I have to build it all from scratch again!" she shouted.

"No, it's back at the hotel. Now come on, hurry up! I want this reattached as soon as possible", he said, tugging on her arm.

"So demanding!" Winry muttered.

They walked down an empty sidewalk, where no one could see them, Envy/Ed's hold still strong on Winry's arm. "You can let go now", Winry exclaimed. "You're making me uncomfortable, and you're squeezing so hard it hurts."

Envy/Ed turned to look at her, without slowing down or letting go, and grinned evilly. Winry suddenly became very fearful, and tried to tug her arm out of his grasp, put he held tighter, pressing his nails into her skin so hard that it broke the skin and she began to bleed.

She yelped in pain and cried out, "Ed, what the hell is wrong with you?" When she didn't get an answer, she turned to look at Sloth/Al, who was following behind them. "Al, tell your brother to stop! You haven't said anything to me at all so far. Tell him to let go of me! Al!" she screamed. She shuddered, as Sloth/Al ignored her.

"What's wrong with you two?" she yelled. Then she noticed that Ed's right leg had automail, when in reality, it was his left leg that was made of automail. She gasped and cried out, "You're imposters! Let me go! Where are the real Ed and Al? Somebody help me!"

There was no one around to hear her screams. Envy/Ed chuckled, "You're a smart girl."

Suddenly, a car pulled up to the sidewalk, and Ed/Envy stuffed a screaming Winry in the back seat, and then it drove off. "Come on Sloth", Envy said when the car was out of sight. "We'd better go where Mustang can see us, so he won't suspect that Ed or Al are missing. The plan will be carried out very soon, so we just have to stay in these stupid disguises for a little while longer."


	4. Chapter 4

Hey everyone! I'm working super hard to get this story finished before summer holidays are over, so I'm writing nonstop. The next chapter will be out in the next couple of days. There'll only be a few more chapters until this story is complete, so expect it finished soon. I'm not sure if this chapter is any good, or if you guys are liking the story. Please review and give me your feedback. Thanks for everyone who had already reviewed! Sorry if you come across any spelling/grammar mistakes, but I tried the best I could! Enjoy!

* * *

When Ed awoke from his drug induced sleep, he felt sick enough to throw up. The homunculus had forced him to take some kind of sleeping pill that had knocked him out for a good 24 hours, or so he thought. He had no idea how long he had been here, but, judging by how hungry he was, he must have been here for a good 3 days. They hadn't fed him a scrap of food, or given him any water. _I'm so thirsty, _was all he could think about as he swayed in and out of consciousness.

His whole body hurt, and he looked down to see that his sleeve was rolled up and his arm was covered in bruises. Someone had given him a good beating, and he was guessing it was Envy. Even though Envy was out pretending to be him, he must have come back at some point and did this to him.

Suddenly, he heard a moan from the other side of the room. His eyes wouldn't focus properly, so he couldn't make out who it was, but he was able to see that the person had long, blonde hair.

"Winry?..." he gasped. His throat was so dry that it hurt to talk.

"Ed! Oh, Ed, you're alive!" she exclaimed. They obviously didn't drug her, since she was so awake at the moment. "You look so sick and hurt! If I wasn't chained up, I'd go over and try to fix up that cut on your forehead. It's bleeding a lot!"

What Ed got out of her outburst was that she was indeed chained up so she couldn't help him escape, and that he was even more injured than he thought. _How much blood did I lose the past couple of days?_ That thought scared him. He could die from blood loss! What if, when the homunculus got what they want, they would just kill the three of them? He really had to figure out a way out of this.

Just then, the door to their prison cell opened, and Lust and Envy came in. Lust went and undid Ed to take him out of this place, while Envy went to Winry. It must be time to create the stone.

Ed had no energy to fight them at the moment, nor the will. He couldn't give them any reason to hurt Al. Winry, on the other hand, was kicking, screaming, and trying to wiggle herself out of Envy's grasp, but Envy had no patience for her, so he kicked her in the stomach to knock the air out of her so that she would be in too much pain to try to fight. It did, in fact, work.

They were taken outside, and Ed seen that they were still in Central, and that their prison had only been an abandoned warehouse. They were then stuffed into the back seat of a car, with Al already in the backseat beside them. "Brother!" he screamed. His brother had fainted again, so he didn't get a reply.

Envy, in the passenger's seat, threw a small rock at Ed's head, which caused him to stir, and cry out. He opened his eyes, briefly, and then closed them again. Then Envy told Ed, "Don't you dare die on us, Fullmetal Shorty. You're the most important person in this car at the moment. If you die, we won't be able to do the alchemy to create the stone!"

Ed opened his eyes once more, and with an annoyed look on his face, he replied, "Don't call me short."

Envy began to laugh, and Ed closed his eyes again. Winry looked fearfully from Ed's limp form to Envy. Her hands were tied behind her back, her ankles were tied together, and she was gagged. There was nothing she could do to attack them. Al couldn't do anything either, for he, also, had his armoured hands tied behind his back with chains, and his ankles, also.

Ed, on the other hand, was neither gagged, nor had any of his limbs tied together. He assumed that it was due to the fact that the homunculus thought he was too weak to try to attack. All he could think was that if he could somehow free Al and Winry, even if he couldn't get away, he didn't have to do what they said, for they would have no hostages anymore.

No one noticed, but Ed was secretly drawing a transmutation circle in the leather door with his fingernail. He activated it, and it caused the front part of the car to break off. Since they were currently driving down a hill, the front part rolled down it, with Envy and Lust still in the front seats.

Surprisingly, Ed, Winry, and Al's part of the car did not roll down, so Ed, using all his strength, untied Winry's binds made of rope, and used alchemy to undo Al's chain binds. Al scooped up his limp brother, wedding style, and ran back into Central, heading in the direction of the hospital with Winry following close behind.

They were stopped when Lust had extended her nail, and had hit Winry in the leg. It went right through her leg to the other side. She screamed, and fell to the ground.

Ed noticed that, as Al was bent down to tend to Winry, Lust and Envy had gained on them. He told his little brother, as quick and quietly as he could, "Al, take Winry to the hospital, and leave me here. You can't carry us both without hurting one of us. Once she's being tended to by doctors, inform the military about what happened, and explain to them where they said they were taking us-that small village place. Hurry as fast as you can. I don't have to do what they say if they don't have hostages."

Al nodded, scooped up Winry, and by the time Lust and Envy had reached Ed, Al was already long gone. Envy kicked Ed very hard, who was lying on his back in the dirt. Ed cried out, and Envy yelled, "We're such idiots to let those freaks get away. We shouldn't have underestimated this twerp. Damn it!"

"Envy", said Lust. "We still have the alchemist. They left him behind. We can still get him to do the alchemy, somehow." Envy picked Ed up, and flung him over his shoulder, as they went to carry out the plan.


	5. Chapter 5

I am so so so sorry that this chapter took so long to get up! The next chapter will be out soon, I promise!! **Disclaimer**: I don't own FMA. I hope you guys like it! Please review, and tell me what you think!

* * *

When Al arrived at the hospital, he ran inside and the nurses jumped up to tend to Winry, once they seen her bloody, scared looking figure in his arms. They got her admitted into a room, and while they tended to her injury, Al went outside to the nearest payphone, and called Mustang using the outside line.

"Colonel! You have to help Ed! The homunculi have him captured, and they're going to use the villagers of some small village to create the Philosopher's Stone!" Al explained as fast as he could, once he heard the Colonel's voice on the other side of the line.

"Slow down, Alphonse!" Roy exclaimed once he fully realized who he was actually talking to. "Now explain from the beginning-what happened? I thought I seen you and Ed in my office just this morning. What could have happened in that time that could result in something terrible?"

"There's no time to explain!" Al cried.

"Alphonse, we can't do anything unless we have all the information we need. Now start talking!"

Al sighed, and began to tell Mustang all the events that had taken place, and Mustang began to order his subordinates to rally up military men to go directly to the village in which Alphonse was implying. Alphonse could only hope that they would get there in time.

"Lust, look at him! He's barely conscious! C'mon, I've been waiting to get my hands on him when he's like this for a long time. I can kill him, and get it over with! We can always find another alchemist", Envy complained, as they trudged onward, towards their destination.

"We're using him. We'll get him to draw a transmutation circle instead of just using his hands. We've gone to all this trouble, and also, I thought that you wanted him to put up a fight if you were to kill him", Lust replied.

"You don't think he's put up a fight at all since the time we captured him?" Envy asked, and Lust sighed.

"Of course he has, but that's not what I meant. Too bad those other kids got away. They'll probably find some way to ruin our plans..."

Ed was out cold from the kick Envy gave him. He dangled limply from Envy's shoulder as Envy roughly carried him. The village began to faintly appear in the distance.

"We're here, Fullmetal Shorty!" Envy announced, cheerfully, tossing Ed to the ground and kicking him roughly in the head. When Ed didn't wake up, nor respond in any way, Envy squatted onto his knees and slapped Ed's cheeks.

He sighed, and stood up. "He's not coming to, Lust. That's going to be a problem."

Lust pushed him aside, and made her way to the boy who lay limp on the cold ground. She reached out her hand, and used her sharp nail to roughly scratch one of his two injuries on his left shoulder. He yelped in pain, and opened his eyes.

"A woman's touch", Lust bragged, as she stepped back from the awakening figure.

"Get up, pipsqueak", Envy ordered. "It's time."

Ed wasn't fully alert yet, but it clicked in his mind that he needed to hold them off as long as he could, at least until Al, or the military came to put an end to the plot that would wipe out this small village.

"No!" Ed exclaimed, defiantly. "Why should I do anything for you when you have nothing to use against me? There is no way in hell that I am going to take innocent lives just because you want me to."

"You will or we'll kill you", Lust countered, as she extended a nail which pierced Ed in the left side, right under his ribs. His eyes went wide, and he clutched his injury while coughing up blood.

"We can always find another alchemist to do the alchemy, one a little more willing maybe", Lust told him. Ed wiped the blood from his mouth with his sleeve. He couldn't die. He knew how much it would impact Alphonse.

"I'll do it", he gave up, and he followed them as slowly as he could to the village. Edward could only hope that the military would get here in time.

"I can't believe I was so easily tricked", Roy said, shaking his head. Him and Al were waiting for a report from Riza on the current situation. "I should have known something was up when Ed didn't respond normally after I had called him short."

"It's not your fault, Colonel", Al comforted him.

"It's partially my fault, and if I whole village gets wiped out, I'll feel the guilt."

Al knew he should be worried for the health and well-being of the innocent villagers, but he couldn't help but be more worried for his brother's well-being. Knowing Ed, he had probably done something that had made the homunculi hurt him again. He had already lost way too much blood, and Al didn't think Ed could last much longer if he continued to get injured.

"Colonel?" Al said quietly, sounding troubled.

Roy, who had his head in his hands, looked up quickly at him. "Yes, Alphonse?"

"Do you think Ed's okay? I mean I'm worried about the village too, but Ed was pretty hurt when I left him. I didn't want to leave him like that, but there was no time! If he dies, it'll be my fault!..."

"Al, it won't be your fault if anything bad happens to Fullmetal. You did the right thing. Your brother is strong, I'm sure he'll be alright." Roy only half-heartedly meant what he had just said. He didn't know the extent of Ed's injuries, and for all he knew, Ed could be dying from blood loss at this very moment.

They heard footsteps, and Riza appeared in front of them, saluting Roy. "The soldiers have been deployed, and will be arriving at the village soon." _I just hope it's soon enough_, she thought to herself.

Roy nodded, and replied, "If the village is harmed at all, we won't just have the problem of many deaths, but we'll also have to deal with other villages fearing the same fate.

Suddenly, Al stood up and yelled, "What about Ed? Aren't you two _worried_ about him? He's the one who needs help right now! If he died, I'd be the next to go."

Riza's eyes went wide, and Roy replied, "If he died, you would _not_ be the next to die. I'd make sure that you wouldn't attempt any form of suicide."

"So you're not denying the fact that he might die?" Al cried out.

"There's always a possibility", Roy said.

"Sir, don't say anymore!" Riza exclaimed, as Al began to shake, and then he ran out the door, into the streets. Riza sighed, and Roy blushed, after he realized what he had actually said to Al. _You better not get yourself killed, Fullmetal,_ Roy thought, as if Ed could actually hear him. _I'd never forgive you for doing that to your little brother, he needs you..._

* * *

Thanks for reading! The next chapter will be out ASAP. Also, I apologize if you came across any spelling mistakes or grammer mistakes in the story. Please please please review!!!


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of FMA.** Sorry this chapter has taken so long. I have been so busy! But it's here now, and my good friend DragonsRuleYourDreams12 gave me some great ideas for the story. Thanks for reading and reviewing (if you did), and I hope you like this chapter.

* * *

Al ran down the road, not caring where he was going. He just had to get away. Didn't Mustang care? He kept running, and soon he happened to arrive at the hospital. While he was here, he decided to check up on Winry, and see how she was doing.

He walked in, and, after getting her room number, he went straight to her room. When he walked in, he could see her, lying on the hospital bed, staring up at the roof. The doctors had stitched up her cut, and bandaged it, but she had lost quite a bit of blood, so she still needed rest.

"Winry?" Al called to her, as he entered. "How are you feeling?"

Winry turned her head to look at him, but her face held a blank stare. Al walked towards her, slowly. "Winry?" he called to her, expecting her to answer.

"They still have Ed, don't they?" she asked him, her voice so soft that Al could barely hear it.

"Yeah..." Al replied.

She turned her head from him, and stared back up at the ceiling. "Why didn't you take him with us? You didn't have to listen to him. You know that he can be reckless, and make stupid decisions, so why didn't you just choose not to listen to him?" Anger was evident in her voice.

"Winry, I-", Al was cut off by Winry as she said, "You could have stopped him! If you hadn't listened to him, he'd be safe now! It's your fault!"

"I didn't have time to think, Winry. I didn't want to leave him, but he made it seem like the only choice."

"Yeah, Al, blame it on Ed. You can think for yourself sometimes, you know", then Winry fell silent, and muttered, "Al... please just leave me alone right now. I just... need to be alone."

The anger that had been bubbling up inside Al disappeared when he heard the emotion in her voice. He shrugged off her outbursts as just a vent for her anger and fear of what was happening to Ed, but he couldn't figure out if any of what she said had real truth.

Al left the room, and he couldn't help but feel miserable. He couldn't stand just waiting around until some military men found Ed. He wanted to help, and to be there to see his brother, not just wait and pray that they find him in time.

Alphonse ran back to headquarters as fast as he could. As soon as he entered, he ran into Mustang, alongside Riza. "Sir!" Al yelled to catch his attention, and once he did, he continued, "Colonel, I'm really sorry I just ran off before. I was just... really upset."

Roy replied, "It's alright, Alphonse, no one blames you. I shouldn't have been so inconsiderate for your feelings. I apologize, also."

Al nodded, and said, "I was wondering if, maybe, I could join the militants who are helping to look for Ed. I'm just so worried for him, and it was my fault that he was left there..."

"No, Alphonse. We already discussed how dangerous it would be for you, and they might take you hostage again. I'm pretty sure that you realize that the last thing Edward would want would be to have you in any sort of danger", Hawkeye explained.

Roy exclaimed, "Actually, it might be a good idea. The men are having trouble finding the village, and, since Alphonse has already been in the area, he could help them find the village, or at least lead them into an area nearby."

"I'll do anything to help them find Ed!" Al exclaimed.

Riza said, "It's Colonel Mustang's orders. Just don't do anything dangerous, alright."

Al lit up, "I won't, and I promise I won't give up until I find him alive!"

When Al wasn't listening, Roy told Riza, "I'll go with him to keep him out of danger, and if Ed is dead, I won't allow him to see the body. I don't know how dangerous it is out there, but according to Al, we're up against six homunculi. I'm not sure how strong they are, but we might need backup. I'll leave you in charge of that. Al and I will start off as soon as possible, but I have to ready some things first."

"Yes sir!" Riza replied, saluting him, as she walked off in the other direction.

* * *

Ed, Lust and Envy met up with Wrath, Sloth, Gluttony and Pride on the outskirts of the village. "What took you so long?" Wrath complained when they were close enough.

"Fullmetal Shorty here put up a fight", Envy replied, jerking his thumb towards the defiant looking teen that stood behind him, looking about to fall over.

"No kidding, it seems that you lost the hostages", Sloth commented, while tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.

Ed remained silent. He was still trying to come up with a way out of his situation. There was no way to escape at the moment, because he couldn't run very fast or far with his current injuries. He was getting very dizzy, and could barely think clearly.

Lust shoved a piece of chalk into his hand, and he couldn't hear what she said, but he knew what he had to do. He knew how to draw the transmutation circle to create the Philosopher's Stone, but it clicked in his mind that he should do it very, very slowly, as to stall long enough to have the military rescue him. He couldn't actually believe that he was depending on someone to rescue him, but he had no faith in himself that he would get away without help.

Edward felt so helpless, and worthless. If he did die, at least he had been able to save Al and Winry. No-what was he thinking!?!?! He couldn't-no, he _wouldn't_ die. He wouldn't make Winry and Al sad for him. He wouldn't make them cry. He would live on after this.

He began to draw the circle, starting where he was standing. Envy followed behind him, his arms crossed, while Lust, Sloth, Wrath, Pride and Gluttony watched from the sidelines. Ed drew it so painstakingly slow, that his arm ached after only a little while.

Once in a while, Envy would kick him to speed up the process, but the homunculi didn't really know how to draw a transmutation circle, and they didn't know if slow speed for drawing one was normal, or not, so they didn't utter a word of complaint. If Ed wasn't so injured, he could have laughed at their idiocy, but it hurt to even speak, so he kept his mouth shut.

Ed was about a quarter of the way done, when suddenly he, once again, fell over, unconscious. Envy sighed, and Wrath complained, "Why are humans so weak?"

"He's lost too much blood", Sloth sighed, turning to glare at Lust. "You didn't have to beat him to a pulp, you know." She walked up to Ed, and stood him up, giving him support.

Ed slowly came to, and groaned as Sloth held him in a position that magnified the pain in his side that already burned like hell. He wobbled, slightly, but Sloth kept him steady. Ed didn't remember where he was or what he was doing. He wasn't fully alert and he was incoherent.

"Keep going", Sloth whispered in his ear, sounding identical to how his mother used to sound. He nodded, believing it to be his mother who was holding him. He couldn't think clearly, and he wasn't even sure what he was doing, but he wanted to listen to the person that he thought was his mother, and he wanted to make her proud.

Sloth encouraged Ed, telling him to draw faster. She made sure he stayed awake and didn't fall. Jealousness was building inside Wrath, but he knew that she was just acting, and that it was all part of the plan. He still couldn't help but be jealous of whom _his_ mom was holding, encouraging, and giving love to, even if it was an act.

Pretty soon, the outside circle was done, and they headed into the village to draw the inside of the circle. They needed Ed alert for that because he had to concentrate on remembering what the circle looked like. Sloth dropped him, and tried to think of a way they could get him alert again, without hurting him anymore.

* * *

Roy, Al and some other troops drove into the direction that Roy had originally sent his men, with pointers from Al. They caught up with the search team quickly, and the leader of the team reported to Mustang, "We have searched throughout the forest, but found no way out. It's like the village doesn't even exist."

"It has to!" Al started, but Mustang drowned him out with, "It does exist, and we will find it."

"Yes sir", the men saluted, and Mustang and Al joined in with the search.

"Where _exactly _were you when Winry was injured?" Roy inquired.

Al led him over to the spot. "Here!" he said. Roy nodded, and he noticed blood spots leading towards the left. He called the troops over, and they followed the trail.

Al was hysterical as they made their way through the trees. "He's bleeding! He's hurt! It's my fault!" were only a few statements he cried out, while he shook uncontrollably.

Roy took a deep breath, and tried to comfort Al, which was one of the things he sucked at. While other people might have made up things to comfort a child, Roy was good at stating the truth, so that's exactly what he did. "Al, you know that Ed is strong. He'll pull through. He's lost lots of blood before, hasn't he? He's gone through many injuries without getting expert medical assistance, and he's been through worse."

Al nodded, and tried to focus on believing his brother was still alive out there. The wind began to pick up, and it shook the trees. Suddenly, one of the militant's called out, "Colonel! We've found the village."

Al lit up with a sense of newfound hope. Roy braced himself for what they might find there, but deep down, he trusted that Ed was still alive. Ed wouldn't be defeated so easily.

* * *

I hope you liked it. I'll update faster next time. Please review, and thanks for reading!


	7. Chapter 7

Ok, so I was looking back at my old chapters of this story, and I found not only a whole bunch of mistakes (I'm my own worst critic, lol), but I also seen that I lied to you guys in chapter 4!! I told you there'd only be a few more chapters till the end, but I lied. There's probably going to be at least 9, or 10 chapters in all (thats what I'm planning for anyways). If you guys have any great ideas on how to wrap up the story, don't be afraid to leave a review or PM me. Here's chapter 7! Please don't be mad if it's really bad. I had writer's block, and I also had the flu, so it was hard for me to concentrate on anything. **Disclaimer: I do not own FMA.**

* * *

Sloth had come up with a great idea. Something that would snap Ed back into reality quicker than anything else. She had Envy transform into a human Alphonse, and Lust hold an extended nail across his throat. Sloth knew how much Ed cared about his brother, and to see his brother in any sort of danger would alert him.

"Ed!" the disguised Envy called to him in Al's voice.

Edward's head snapped up, as he believed his brother to be in some sort of danger. His eyes flared, as he seen Al in Lust's grasp. It seemed as though he didn't even think about the fact that Al was in his human form. His mind wasn't totally alert yet, but Sloth was sure that it was enough to make him remember the design of the transmutation circle.

Ed dashed towards them, despite his injuries, but Sloth held him back. Lust explained, "We won't hurt him if you finish the circle. Once the circle is complete, you two can go home safe. _All we need is the circle to be finished_."

Edward closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. He nodded, and Sloth released him. Glancing at the chalk in his hand, he got down on his knees, and continued to draw the circle, under pressure from the fact that if he didn't do this properly, his brother would die.

Suddenly, Gluttony perked up and sniffed the air. "Humans are coming", he reported, nose in the air. He pointed in the direction that he smelled them from.

"Wrath! Gluttony! Don't let them ruin our plans", Lust ordered. All three of them nodded, and ran in the direction Gluttony had pointed to.

Al and Mustang, along with the military troops, trekked toward the village. Suddenly, Roy stopped, and gestured for the others to stop also. They heard a scream, and then gunshots. Roy cursed under his breath, and pulled out his gloves from his pocket.

Alphonse cautiously followed Mustang's lead, as they, and the soldiers, approached the area where the noise was coming from. They saw, through the bushes, Gluttony devouring one of the soldiers. They also saw a smaller homunculus fighting more soldiers.

Mustang put his fingers in the ready position to snap, but he controlled the urge to snap, realizing that he could hit one of his men when he hit the homunculi with fire.

"Alphonse, just how dangerous are these homunculi?" Roy whispered to Al.

"They're very strong, and have fast regeneration powers. It is impossible to kill them now, though, because we don't have the remains of their human bodies, or the transmuta-" Al explained, but Mustang interrupted.

"We don't need to kill them if we can't. The mission is to protect the villagers, and rescue Fullmetal, understood?"

"Yes, Colonel", Al replied.

"We'll have to fight off these homunculi if we're ever going to get to the village. I'll take on the fat one. Can you handle the small one?" Roy asked him, indicating Wrath.

"Sure", Al nodded, and they both dashed into the battlefield, heading for their prey.

Roy trusted that Al wouldn't get hurt. He had told him that he had fought these guys before, and the one he was fighting was small. Child-like seemed like the word to describe it. Ed would never forgive Mustang if anything happened to Al.

Roy ordered the soldiers to leave the vicinity, and they obeyed, without question. He snapped his fingers, and Gluttony started on fire. He screamed, and Roy, thinking he was finished, pulled off the fire.

Gluttony regenerated, and jumped in the air, landing on top of Mustang, knocking him over and pinning his arms to the ground. Roy attempted to snap his fingers, but Gluttony was holding him down so tightly that he couldn't.

Roy struggled against the large homunculus. He managed to force him off of him for just the right amount of time to roll out from underneath him.

Suddenly, several gunshots could be heard nearby him. Mustang glanced to where the sound came from, and found himself looking at Riza, along with many more troops. Beside him, Gluttony, who had been hit by the gunshots, was regenerating.

Riza shot at him some more, and Roy started him on fire. They kept at it until he stopped moving and fell to the ground.

"Is he dead?" Riza asked, as she walked closer to the body and Roy, with the troops following behind her.

"No. I'm pretty sure Alphonse said that we needed the homunculus's human remains to actually kill him. He must just be unconscious", Roy told her.

Riza said, "We'll take care of him. You and your men go up and take care of the village... and Ed."

Wrath spotted Al and grinned. "Finally, a real opponent" he chuckled as Al neared him.

"Where's my brother?" Al demanded.

"Why should I tell you?" Wrath said. "You'll try to ruin our plans." Then Wrath ran to him, and delivered a blow to his helmet, which spun off of his head, revealing his blood seal.

Alphonse caught it before it hit the ground, and fixed it upon his head, just in time to be hit again, and knocked to the ground.

Wrath used alchemy to fuse Al's leg to the ground. Al clapped his hands together, and pressed them to the ground, using alchemy to break the fuse. Then he got up, and used alchemy to have a large spike come out of the ground, and smash into Wrath at full-force.

Wrath flew through the air, but regained his balance, landed on his feet, and ran back towards Al. He jumped in the air, and kicked Al in the chest-plate, and Alphonse staggered back a few steps.

"I don't know why you're trying to stop us from creating the stone. All we want to do is be human. Maybe, if you're good, we'll make you human, too", Wrath taunted Al.

"I _am _human", Al countered.

"No you're not. You're just a suit of armor. Real humans have human bodies."

Alphonse growled in anger, and used alchemy to make another spike come out of the ground to smash into Wrath, but Wrath dodged it.

"Having my soul attached to armor doesn't make me any less human than if my soul was attached to a body!" Al told him.

"You're definition of a human is too broad", Wrath stated. "Maybe, to you and your brother, you are still a human. But to others, like me, you're just a worthless tin can!"

That got Al really mad. He charged towards Wrath, quicker than Wrath could process what was happening. Clapping his hands together, he touched the ground, and created a cage around Wrath, made from the wood of the trees around them.

Wrath cut through the bars, and got out, but Al got to him faster. He delivered a punch to the homunculus's face, and kneed him in the stomach, which sent Wrath flying. As he fell to the ground, he collided with a tree.

"NEVER call me worthless! And I'm not a tin can!" Al yelled at him.

Wrath snarled as he stood up, "You're just a burden to your brother, you know." Wrath was trying to distract his thoughts, and weaken him mentally.

Alphonse lunged toward him, ready to attack, and Wrath turned around and ran toward the direction of the village. Al chased him, and followed him through every twist and turn he made.

Wrath led him right to the village, where the other homunculi were, along with Ed. When they approached, Al spotted all the homunculi, and his brother drawing a giant transmutation circle through the village.

"Brother!" Al cried, when he seen Ed. He noticed many villagers watching what was happening from their porches, or through the windows of their houses.

"I got one of the hostages back!" Wrath announced. Ed glanced at Envy (disguised as Al), and then turned to the real Al, confusedly. Then, suddenly, he snapped back to reality, realising that the real Al wasn't the one in the human form.

Sloth grabbed tightly a hold of Ed, who had tried to run to where the real Al was. "Get out of here, Al! It's too dangerous", he yelled at his brother. The last thing he wanted was for Al to get hurt because he was taken as a hostage again.

Al stood his ground, defiantly, and said, "No, I can't just leave you here." He understood the danger, but he couldn't just leave his brother here to do the homunculi's bidding.

"You idiot!" Envy yelled at Wrath, as he transformed back into himself. "We had everything under control. You ruined it!"

"Did not! I brought back a hostage so you could get Edward to do what you wanted" Wrath yelled back.

"We already had the Fullmetal Shorty doing what we wanted", Envy complained.

"Whatever", Lust shrugged. "We can still get him to do it, either willingly, or forcefully."

"You're okay with this brat ruining everything that we had under control?" Envy asked her.

"No, but there's nothing we can do about it now, is there?" she replied, while Wrath gave Envy a nasty glare. Lust lunged toward Al, attempting to grab him, and take him under her control, but suddenly, she started on fire. She screamed in pain, and Al looked behind him.

It was Mustang, along with many soldiers, in the bushes. Roy smirked at Al, and then turned his concentration back to burning Lust. Villagers ran out of their nearby houses, screaming, when they seen the burning body.

Al was so grateful for his backup. He knew that even though things looked bad now, he had friends who would back him up, and make sure things turned out for the better. Somehow, he knew that with Roy's help, they would rescue the village, and get Ed out of there safely.

But that hope was suddenly diminished when Lust, still on fire, extended a nail towards Roy, which pierced right through his side. He yelped in pain, and grabbed his side. The fire that was on Lust went out, and things looked bleak once again.

* * *

Please review! It would make me happy! Next chapter will be out as soon as I can write it!


End file.
